How Can We Teach Our Children to Pray?

As Christian parents and grandparents, it’s important that we teach our children about God, beginning at a very young age.

We can prepare them to know who God is by reading stories from the Bible that teach both about His Person and His works.  From creation to redemption, and ultimately to the restoration of all things, we can help our children to come to faith in Jesus and to know Him through His Word.  But children also need to learn how to live with Jesus and for Jesus.  And so, we must teach them to pray.

Learning to Pray

In some ways, prayer comes naturally.  But encouraging children and helping them to learn to pray is most beneficial.

Most often, we start with simple childhood mealtime and bedtime prayers.  But as children grow and mature, we want to teach them to engage their thoughts and emotions in expressing their hearts to God through prayer.

One of the best ways to promote such conversation in prayer is by teaching intercessory prayer to children.  Having children not only name their family and friends, for whom they want to pray, but also have children be specific about what they want to pray for them.

Using a Prayer Cube

A great way to teach children to talk to God in prayer is to make it fun.  A prayer cube can be used in many ways to promote children’s active involvement in how they pray and the people and things for which they desire to pray.

Ideas for Using a Prayer Cube

1) Have your child write the names of those for whom he or she will pray on each side of the cube. Write what they will pray for each person.  Or ask what they love most about each person, so they can thank God for specific things about their family and friends.

2) Write a couple of the fruit of the Spirit on each side of the cube.  Then focus on the fruit listed on each day and have your child pray to increase the fruit in his or her life.

3) Have your child write Bible verses on each side of the cube.  Then talk about the daily verse, helping your child to understand what it teaches and encourage them to memorize the verse.

4) Have your child illustrate the cube, drawing pictures of family, friends, the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, etc), or Bible lesson from verses.

5) Have your child write things they want to thank God for on each side of the cube.  Or have them write attributes of God and teach them to praise Him.

5) Be creative.  Add whatever your child wants to pray for on each side of the cube.  Then cut on the solid lines, fold on the dotted lines, and assemble the cube.

However you use the prayer cube, let it be a time of fun that will grow your children’s faith. Children need to be taught, at a very young age, the truths of the Bible and the joys of living in both union and communion with Jesus.  In our chaotic and ever-increasingly dark world, we must endeavor to shine the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God” (2 Cor 4:6) so our children (and grandchildren) can stand strong in their faith.

Print Out the Prayer Cube

Use our prayer cube for Monday-Saturday prayers. And on Sundays, encourage your child to reflect on all the prayers or perhaps focus on praising God.